Disclaimer: If I would've owned Naruto, I'd have forced Kishi to reveal the ending already. Or at least give me some clues to what's going to happen to Sasuke next. (Am dying to find out.)
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Chapter XXXII: This Is Not My First Time
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"Aaah… today's going to be a great day!"
Cecilia cocked an eyebrow in amusement at her niece's remark. Over the past months, she had grown accustomed and fond of the girl she had once found a nuisance. "Oh, really? What's making you so happy? Tomorrow you'll be leaving for Tokyo."
Being the pessimist she was, Cecilia liked pointing out the obvious. She never really cared if it hurt or not; but that was how she was. Blunt. Rough. Tough. Back in her high school days, she had been a mix of Tenten and a female Sasuke.
"Yeah, I know." She could see Sakura's smile falter a little, but it was still there. "But this afternoon, I'm going to go on my date with Sasuke-kun!"
"A date, huh?" A smile tugged at Cecilia's lips. "Where?"
"Champs-Élysées! Aaaah…" She exhaled heavily with almost exaggerated, dreamful glee. "It's going to be so romantic. In the sunset, too!"
"Aa." Cecilia then looked serious. "But, Sakura…"
"Hai?"
"Have you actually considered staying in Paris?"
"Well…"
"I mean, you still have your relationship with Sasuke and all. The term's over tomorrow, right? And at noon, you'll be leaving for Tokyo. Wouldn't you rather finish your studies here, in Paris?"
"I've already promised kaa-san." Sakura grinned. "Besides, the others say that they'll come to Tokyo to visit me on the summer holidays. Then after college, I might come back."
"Okay." Cecilia paused. "So you'll be away from Sasuke… for how long?"
"A couple of years, perhaps. But we'll hopefully visit each other."
"Oh, okay."
But when Sakura left the kitchen, Cecilia was wondering if she was lesser happier than she pretended she was.
---
Wearing brand-new clothes and with the latest fragrance of Paris' well-extended perfume market lingering in the air around her, Sakura satisfyingly looked around for Sasuke. The sky was already showing signs of early sunset as chitchatting families, tourists, friends and couples strolled down the white sidewalks. The luxurious stores were still full of customers, but were already starting to become emptier and emptier.
But to Sakura's surprise, Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.
Strange. He's always on time, and I'm always the one being late. And I'm already five minutes late. This is really weird.
Glancing at her pink-and-silver DKNY wristwatch, a present from her aunt on her birthday, she wondered whether or not she should phone him and ask where he was. But deciding that it was only the traffic delaying his arrival, she shrugged it off.
As long as he's coming at all, it's worth the waiting.
Oh boy, was Sakura wrong about that.
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After one hour, Sakura started to seriously doubt her choice. But she was still stubbornly thinking that it was some meeting, or maybe something else; the traffic, an unexpected guest, whatever. She had sent a text message to Sasuke though, wondering where he was and kindly apologizing for her impatience.
Heaving a sigh, she stared at the already much emptier streets.
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One and a half hours. Sakura was tapping her foot on the ground impatiently, gaining some unwanted attention, but she didn't care. Where the hell are you, Sasuke-kun?!
Three text messages.
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One hour and three quarters of an hour. Sakura had started to march up and down the sidewalk, furiously. The sky was already ablaze.
Five text messages.
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Seven text messages and two hours later, Sakura was seriously mad. She picked up her phone a last time, dialed a familiar number, and when somebody casually answered, 'Hello?', she screamed…
"UCHIHA SASUKE, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR TWO HOURS!"
The voice sighed familiarly. "Sakura, you're annoying."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, but where are you?!"
"I…" Sakura waited for a sensible response. "… was picking tomatoes."
Sakura dropped her jaw. Picking tomatoes?!?!? BEFORE OUR DATE? WHAT WAS HE THINKING?
Sakura knew of Sasuke's secret passion of growing tomatoes that he ate himself, but this was just too bizarre. Why didn't he do it earlier, during the morning or something? Wasn't she, his girlfriend, more important than a bunch of tomatoes?
Infuriated, she slammed her cell phone shut.
---
Sasuke shut his cell phone and breathed out. Thank God Sakura is so naïve.
Any other girl would've been suspicious. Picking tomatoes before a date? That was just weird. But of course Sakura would believe him. After all, she had no reason not to.
He smirked. Sorry, Sakura. But just you wait. You'll love it.
---
When Sasuke finally arrived, Sakura decided to forgive him. After all, it was their date. It was no fun if she was sour with him. So she decided to do her favorite thing to cheer herself up.
"Sasuke-kun, can we go shopping?"
She knew he hated it. But he deserves it! Two hours late and he was picking tomatoes! HMPH!
Geez, Outer Me. You sure are fiery today, aren't you?
But this is our last –
Reality struck her. Their last date in Paris until after college? Whoa. That sure was something. She wondered deep inside if Sasuke had planned anything special for the evening. But knowing him, he probably hadn't.
"Okay, then," she heard said boyfriend's voice say. Happier now, Sakura literally dragged Sasuke towards the closest clothes boutique, took a random good-looking crimson cocktail dress and dumped him outside of the dressing room. Three seconds later, she reappeared, looking lovelier than before.
"Sasuke-kun, what do you think?!" she almost squealed in excitement. In her own opinion, it looked pretty good.
Further evidence were two guys in the shop that whistled and shouted flirty compliments to her in French. Sasuke fumed with wrath, even though Sakura didn't seem to care; he stared at the cocktail dress and muttered sourly: "Doesn't fit you."
Sakura looked disappointed. "Why?"
"Well, firstly, you're too flat-chested. Then you have too wide a forehead. And you're starting to get fat…"
Diving back into the dressing room and reappearing outside within two seconds, Sakura marched out of the store, a dozen veins popping on her temple.
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As he watched his girlfriend stomp out of the clothing boutique, Sasuke glanced at the cocktail dress. It had looked good on her. So good that it surprised him… and besides, he didn't like other guys looking at her. She was his. Only his.
Possessive, much? Nah. This was just a tiny crumb of Sasuke's gigantic possessiveness.
"How much does this cost?" he bluntly asked the woman by the cash register. She blinked, blushing at the attention.
A couple of minutes later, Sasuke walked out with a shopping bag in his hand.
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"Where're we going?" Sakura asked, muttering in anger.
"To the harbor," Sasuke simply responded.
"Harbor?" Sakura raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know there was a harbor here. I mean, there's Seine, but there's no sea."
"It depends on what you call a harbor," Sasuke shrugged. Sakura then glanced at the shopping bag. Did he have it before?
"What's in that bag?" she wondered, half-curiously.
"You'll see pretty soon," he smirked. Her eyebrow only rose higher. What the hell should that mean?
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"Sugoi…" Sakura blinked. "Is this the… Arc de Triomphe?"
The Arc de Triomphe was one of the most visited places in Paris – it was a huge arch which, in the current sunset, was a slight beige-pinkish color; but what was most astounding with the huge arch was the traffic around it. You could hardly get to it due to the amount of cars speeding about.
"Apparently." Sasuke merely seemed bored, and slightly impatient. What he was going to show her was much more impressive than this… but they had to get there in time, or else it'd not be as beautiful as he wanted it to be. "Now, can we proceed?"
"… Wait. Let me just take a photo of this." Sakura pulled out her camera from her bag and prepared to photograph the arch, when –
"Ch-chotto matte! What're you doing?" Sasuke had put a hand over the one on the camera and readjusted it so that he and Sakura could be seen standing in front of the arch.
"If you want to take a photo," he said boredly, "We might as well take one of us."
Taken aback by the romantic gesture after his unromantic behavior since the beginning of their date, Sakura flushed a little. "Okay, then."
---
By the time they reached the place, the sunset was almost over. Sakura now realized what Sasuke meant with harbor.
"Oh… les Bateaux-Mouches," she commented, nodding understandingly. The other day, she had heard one of their classmates talk about it. It was mostly visited by tourists, but it was a romantic place to go… not. The classmate had joked about it being les Bateaux-Moches, which literally meant the ugly boats.
"You coming?" Sasuke impatiently asked. Sakura wondered if this was what he had planned for their last date. Knowing Sasuke-kun, he probably didn't know it was that romantic. I'll just have to play along, right?... Even if Asian tourists are annoying. Wait, I'm dissing myself!
"Yeah," she brightly responded. Sasuke went to the booth.
"I'm Uchiha Sasuke," he barked with a tone that clearly suggested he was the superior. The man in the booth, who had previously looked bored, now sat upright in his chair with a panicked expression.
"Hai, Sasuke-sama! May I be of assistance?" Sasuke-sama? Does the Uchiha Corp. own this, too? What does it not own?
"I reserved a boat, didn't I?" His eyes narrowed. "Now, start the boat for us."
"Hai, Sasuke-sama!" The man rushed out of the booth and unlocked a sealed glass door, bowing as he let Sasuke and Sakura in. Sasuke, whose intimidating expression was gone, calmly stepped out onto the wooden floor that supported them from falling into the greenish Seine water below them. Sakura gulped as the two of them jumped onto the boat, avoiding the tiny gap that separated the boat's closeable stairs from the 'harbor'.
"… It's… pretty," she managed to say as she looked around on the boat. It certainly was. The lower floor looked like something between a sitting room and a café without food nor cash register, and the upper floor… well, it was the roof of the boat, and there were plenty of chairs there as well.
"Hn," Sasuke responded, clearly not interested in her opinion. He continued up the stairs to the roof, and finally flopped down onto one of the white plastic chairs. Sakura politely took the seat next to him, as the boat started floating away from the harbor.
---
The two remained in silence for a while as the boat continued down the river. The sun was setting slowly, and Sasuke was as impatient as ever. Damn. Why doesn't it set faster? He knew that Sakura thought this was a pathetic attempt of being romantic. But she hasn't seen the real magic yet.
He hid a smirk as he gazed down on the water. It was so disgusting. Green and dirty. Whoever said Seine was a romantic place had got to be kidding.
But finally things went his way. The sky slowly turned darker and darker, and the first star appeared in front of them as they came out from underneath a bridge. "Look." He nudged her, pointing up at the star. Sakura, mesmerized, stared up at the sky. But there was more to come.
One by one, Paris' lights awoke. The buildings around them were faintly lit by bright lights, and the water turned dark, with the exception of the lights playing on the surface. Some people on the sides of the Seine waved to them as some slight laughter could be heard groups of happy families or fun-loving friends could be seen.
The moon above them could be seen; it was not a full moon, but a crescent one; the boat's lights were turned on too, and that was when Sakura could see them.
"Fireflies…," she murmured softly.
The Eiffel Tower didn't lose to the dim lights of Paris. It towered proudly over all other buildings, golden and bright, as spotlights erupted from them. Sakura was stunned. The beauty was almost enigmatic, cryptic; had Sasuke, the most unromantic boyfriend in the world, really known this? Another two stars had appeared on the sky, and together with the first, created a perfect, though slightly broad, triangle, around the Eiffel Tower's tip. As a final touch, the crescent moon shone brightly on the cloudless sky to the left of the triangle.
Sakura could only stare. "Wow…," she whispered breathlessly at the sight. Sasuke could only smirk.
"I knew you'd love it," he said. He stared up at the night sky. "… I love it, too."
Sakura then bowed her head. Sasuke, noticing the strange silence, tilted his head so he could see her face. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Did… did you show the same thing to Cindy?" she asked in a low voice.
He averted his gaze from her. "… Maybe I did." Sakura was downhearted by his reply. "But," he added, "you're not Cindy, are you?"
Sakura smiled warmly. "… Well, no."
He returned her smile as he faced her. "Good thing. Because I love you, not Cindy."
---
Sakura felt her heart flutter. I love you. No matter how many times she heard it, she never had enough. Her smile widened as she closed her eyelids in perfect harmony before opening them again.
"Sasuke-kun, have you heard of the first love never working out?"
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Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "… Yeah."
"Why do you wonder?" he added.
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"Well… I just kind of thought…" She laughed. "… in order to realize what's most important to you… in order to realize how to do better next time… you'll have to fail once."
"Simply put…," she continued, beaming at him, "… this is not my first time, and it's good, isn't it, Sasuke-kun?"
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He understood. And smirked. "Aa… not mine either."
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"But… this is the cocktail dress…!" Sakura gaped in awe at the beautiful cloth. "You said it didn't fit me!"
"Hn. Well, I was just mad. Those guys were pissing me off," he muttered. "Just remember to wear it when there aren't any guys around, okay? … Well, Naruto, Neji and Shikamaru don't count. If you count them as guys, that is."
Sakura giggled at the insult. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun!" Then she gasped. "Wait! I didn't give you anything!"
"You don't have to." He smirked as he neared her face, before sealing their lips into a kiss. "That's enough for me. Now, go in before your aunt drags you into the apartment."
"… Okay." Sakura's lips curled upwards. "… Arigatou, Sasuke-kun."
"Aa. No problem." He raised his hand in a goodbye before walking off into the night. Sakura stared after him, feeling a slight pain in her heart.
… Sasuke-kun… I won't be able to see you for such a long time…
And the final filler's over! Coming up next is the final chapter... but for those who like my fluff, there's something more to come - my coming oneshot collection, Everlasting Dreams! Fluffy humoristic SasuSaku oneshots only x3 And for those who like angsty SasuSaku, check out my Fear of the Light:) That is, until I can finish summarizing the sequel... I've some problems with it o.x;
Reviews Corner (I love reviews... so feed me more reviews, puh-leaaase? -puppy eyes-)
o1DATTEBAYO: Thanks ;D
nashonfun: Thank you :)
frienz4ever: Yay, sequel!... I think. XD Thanks anyway ;D
Crazy Gal42: Yup, I'm looking forward to the next chapter of the manga... I want to know what happens! -whine- But the anime's pretty good as well, but I don't get it... why is there no episode this week? And thanks, did you like the update:D
Kawaii IceCream: Hahah, that's the way Sasuke is. XD But he still loves Sakura, though... he just isn't the lovey-dovey type. Thanks for the review ;D
HeartAngel: Thanks :D But hey, there's a sequel... even if it's much more dramatic :P
silverdragon994: Thank you ;)
Kawaii Kyuubi-chan: Hahah thanks XD Aren't the two of them too weird? I love making serious people weird. Especially the Hyuuga family.
une see: The point is...? Une, you leave me in suspense! XDDD Hahah, just kidding. Glad you liked it. I don't watch horror movies too much. Get freaked out otherwise... o.O; Especially those with scenes in the bathroom, like you look in the mirror and someone stands behind you, because my mom can actually do that, and it freaked my sis out this one time after she watched a horror movie. XD
pilar-ayesha: Thanks :) I will update as soon as possible! ;D
paintupurple: Thanks:D Hahah... I blame my friend. She and I started rambling on about how popular Pokémon and Digimon used to be when were in 2nd grade and that's how I got the idea. XDDD
cherry blossom petals: Thanks, did you like the update? ;)
Thanks for the reviews and please keep on reviewing:D